Voting for semifinal round will include the audience at the Feb. 9 performance (15 percent), online voting after the performance (15 percent; visit www.capesymphony.org from Feb. 12-19 for videos of the performances) and from the panel of judges (70 percent). Winners will be announced Feb. 22.

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You be the judge. In fact, you will be the judge. Next Saturday afternoon, the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra will host "The Soloist," its search for three musicians who will perform as soloists with the CCSO in May.

Next week's performances will showcase eight semifinalists, drawn from an original pool of more than 70 entrants, and the audience will share in choosing the winners.

"The Soloist" might sound like the CCSO's version of "The Voice" or "The Taste," and, in large part, it aims to capture some of that energy.

The contest is more than just a competition for aspiring students.

"I want to find people who are captivating," says CCSO artistic director Jung-Ho Pak. "Not just sonically proficient, but players with charisma. That's what the superstars of classical music really have, that charisma."

With that in mind, Pak asked the entrants not to submit a tape of their performances, but to send a video.

"For a lot of competitions, it's just an audio submission. But I was inspired by the YouTube Orchestra (a popular international ensemble, auditioned under similar circumstances). It's a little adventurous, and maybe dangerous, but YouTube is here to stay.

"I limited the entries to 10 minutes of music," he says. "And it had to be something that the orchestra could learn to accompany them in. But it could have been anything — a kazoo, or a musical saw. And we had a lot of unusual entries."

The semifinal rebound will have all eight participants performing their submissions for a panel of judge — Pak, violinist Irina Muresanu, former CCSO music director Royston Nash, and WGBH radio host Cheryl Willoughby — and the audience. The judges will have a say in choosing the three winners, the audience in attendance will also have a say, and the voting will continue online, with videos of the performers and biographical sketches as well, until Feb. 19. On Feb. 22 the three winners will be announced, and they will appear in both May concerts with the entire orchestra. And after those performances, the audience will again choose — this time for a grand prize winner. All three finalists will receive cash prizes: $3,500 for first place, $2,000 for second and $1,000 for third.

The contestants (see accompanying sidebar) come from a wide variety of backgrounds, which suits Pak just fine. "There was no age limit. We had a gentleman in his 60s, playing euphonium," he says. "He was quite good, but just missed out on the semifinal round.

"Ultimately I have to walk onstage with these people," he says. "I wanted people who were willing to go through the technological hoops to enter, but more importantly people who had a dream and a story to tell. If you watch 'American Idol,' you might be able to find thousands of people who can sing better, but you get involved in the human aspect of their story, the drama. This is where these people are now; they have a story and a dream. One entrant works in the computer field and plays the clarinet; people can relate to that.

"I think in a way that it liberates the audience as well. Classical music can be such a passive experience — you kind of sit there and marvel at the ability of the players onstage.

"Here we're giving a task to the audience. They're empowered. They will have to listen with greater intensity. That's the part that I find compelling. I'm always trying to create that kind of experience for the audience."